Fall 2008 - Museum of Jewish Heritage

Thursday, November 6, 2008, at the Museum of
Jewish Heritage
The Museum’s Associates and Young Friends Divisions
welcome the community to this gathering of Holocaust survivors,
their families, friends, and supporters, to pay tribute to the six
million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, while honoring those
who survived to rebuild their families and communities. This
year’s dinner will honor Rosa Strygler, Museum Trustee Emeritus,
for her role in the foundation of the Associates Division and her
extraordinary dedication to the Museum. Accompanying the event
is a Dinner Journal with ads from individuals and businesses.
Event Co-chairs are Associates Division Co-chairs Howard J.
Butnick, Helene Kener Gray, and Rita G. Lerner; Young Friends
Division Co-chairs are Seth Weisleder and Stacey Saiontz; Dinner
Co-chairs are Evelyn Goldfeier, Marilyn Rosen, and Deborah
Zuckerman; and Journal Co-chairs are Simon Bergson, Jack
Kliger, and Ann Oster.
Welcome the New Year with Items from the Gladys
and Morton Pickman Museum Shop
Get a head start on your High Holiday and fall harvest celebrations
by visiting the Pickman Museum Shop. Welcome a sweet new year
with the elegant glass honey dish and spoon set — a square dish with
contemporary serving spoon designed by Alice and Brian Bergner
from Caesarera Arts in Israel. Cover your challah in style with a very
special challah cover handcrafted by women in Fair Trade Cooperatives
in Guatemala. This item combines traditional Jewish symbols with
traditional Mayan weaving patterns. Decorate your table with a lovely
handmade terracotta pomegranate ornament, a symbol of fertility,
happiness, and the wisdom of the people of Israel, or a sterling silver
covered shofar that can be blown during
Rosh Hashanah services at home or in the synagogue. All of these
items can also be purchased through the shop’s online store at
www.pickmanmuseumshop.com, where you can find a wide variety
of Judaica, jewelry, books and music, and toys for children, as well as
gifts related to the Museum’s educational mission. Museum members
receive a 15 percent discount.
Peter Goldberg
Save the Date
20th Annual Generation to
Generation Dinner
Shown here: Ceramic Honey Bowl: $20; Pomegranate: $47–$52.50; Not shown: Challah Cover: $40;
Glass Honey Dish with Spoon: $95; Shofar: $110. Members receive a 15 percent discount.
Thomas Hinton
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Two years ago, I attended the U.S. book launch of Suite Française, a remarkable
and beautifully written book by Irène Némirovsky, a noted French writer who was
deported to Auschwitz in July 1942 and perished shortly thereafter. Displayed for the
first time at the launch was the original handwritten manuscript of Suite Française —
perhaps the most moving artifact I had ever seen. I decided then and there that an
exhibition about Némirovsky, and about her masterwork, would be powerful and
important. (Please see the story on page 2.)
When we decided to mount this exhibition, we realized that it might well be a
controversial project for a Jewish museum to undertake. We knew that Irène was said
to have had an ambivalent connection to her Judaism
and that she converted to Catholicism in 1939. We
knew that her early works contained disturbing
stereotypes of Jews, and that she had been criticized
for the company she kept and for the publications
in which some of her writings appeared. I was
confident, however, that her story was unambiguously
a Holocaust story. And I was equally confident that
hers was a Jewish story. Not only was she deported
to Auschwitz with a Jewish star stitched to her blouse,
but with all of its complexity, her story echoed and
reflected the stories of many who shared her fate.
Gabriel Sanders, former associate editor of
The Forward, wrote in April about our upcoming
exhibition and posed the question in no uncertain
Irène Némirovsky, c. 1930.
terms: could an exhibition capture a life and legacy
as multifaceted as those of Irène Némirovsky? I believe we have done justice to both
her life and her legacy and, as important, to the larger questions that they raise. Of
course, in the end, it is you, the Museum family, who will decide, and I invite you to
come and judge for yourself. If you would like to comment about what you have seen,
please e-mail me at [email protected]. Comments will be posted on my blog
http://www.mjhblog.blogspot.com.
I wish you a happy and sweet New Year,
The Museum is saddened by the passing of Trustee Imre Hecht and his beloved
wife, Vera. Vera died on January 29, and Imre, perhaps unable to live in this world
without her, died on May 1. The Hechts were founders of the Museum and generous
donors, especially to the Museum’s education programs.
Vera and Imre donated the comment kiosk located at the end of the third
floor Core Exhibition. Dedicated in honor of their nephews, Laci and Tibi Noe,
who perished in Auschwitz, the kiosk allows visitors to leave their impressions of
the Museum. Students, adults, native New Yorkers, tourists, Jews, and non-Jews
have found a way to communicate their deepest feelings through this kiosk. In
April 2001, in honor of Yom HaShoah, Jewish Week devoted an entire page to
comments left at the kiosk.
Perhaps the Hechts’ most lasting contribution was a gift in memory of the nearly
600,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the final months of the war. This gift has
allowed the Museum to conduct professional development training for more than
10,000 teachers.
Imre and Vera met in Manhattan and
were married in the Bronx. In their whirlwind
romance, they met, courted, and married all
in three days. Those three days led to 58
years of happiness. Below is an excerpt of
remarks that Imre prepared for Vera’s
memorial service, held at the Museum on
April 29. Imre’s future brother-in-law told
them they would not be married at City Hall —
he would find a rabbi to marry them. Imre
described their feelings immediately after
the wedding.
Jewish Week called this kiosk “the gift of
“After the ceremony, Vera and I ran to
words” from the Hechts.
the street, jumped into the car, and I started
the engine to go on the honeymoon to Centerport. When we started driving, we
heard a horrible noise. Vera asked, ‘Is this a new car, or is this junk?’ I turned my
head and saw rolls of toilet paper attached to the bumper, as well as beer and other
bottles. There was also a piece of wood with the big letters, Just Married. Further
back, I saw Honey and all the others who came to the wedding, and they were
laughing. The refugees from the bloody, killing, hateful Europe, one from BergenBelsen, the other from a forced labor camp, arrived in a promised land — America.
And we both realized we are the first of this kind of couple who made an American
kind of wedding.”
David G. Marwell, Ph.D.
Museum Director
Melanie Einzig
In Memoriam
Courtesy Irène Némirovsky Archive/IMEC — All rights reserved
Director’s Message
Daring to Resist: Jewish Defiance in the Holocaust, which opened at the Museum
in April 2007, was one of four exhibitions honored in the Excellence in Exhibition
Competition organized by the American Association of Museums. The competition
recognizes outstanding achievement by all types of museums, zoos, aquariums,
botanical gardens, and any other type of non-commercial institution offering
exhibitions to the public. This year, 33 museums entered the competition — more than
ever before. The other winners were the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, for
Noah’s Ark; Science Museum of Minnesota, for Race: Are We So Different?; and the
Mariners’ Museum in Virginia, for Iron Clad Revolution.
Judges felt that the exhibition told a difficult and important story about Jewish
resistance. “Visitors, survivors, and critics alike have had a strong and gratifying response
to Daring to Resist. We have succeeded in changing the way the public views the conduct
of Jews during the Holocaust, and we are honored that a jury of museum professionals
has recognized this accomplishment,” Museum Director Dr. David G. Marwell said.
This is the second time the Museum of Jewish Heritage has entered the competition
and the second honor for the Museum. The Museum’s first award was for Ours to Fight
For: American Jews in the Second World War in 2004.
It is worth noting that two of the four honorees this year are Jewish museums.
Joanne Marks Kauvar, Executive Director of The Council of American Jewish Museums
(CAJM), calls the honors “a reflection of the significant role Jewish museums have
assumed in American cultural life.”
JewishGen to Have a New Look
The Museum is pleased to announce a new partnership between JewishGen and
Ancestry.com. As of this fall, JewishGen will be technically supported by Ancestry.com,
providing faster results and more streamlined searches. The relationship will provide
access to the largest online resource for family history information. JewishGen’s
comprehensive records and information, contributed by volunteer genealogists from
around the world, will continue to be free — just easier to reach. Start searching now
on www.jewishgen.org.
Melanie Einzig
Daring to Resist Honored
Students, teachers, visitors, and critics all praised Daring to Resist.
New&Noteworthy
Coming Soon to Edmond J. Safra Hall
Nigel Dickson
This season, the Museum will present
yet another exciting lineup of thoughtprovoking and artistic programs in
Edmond J. Safra Hall.
• The season opens on September 10,
with the New York premiere of a staged
reading of Commandant, acclaimed
author Frederic Morton’s new play. The
playwright will be joined by former
Harper’s editor Lewis Lapham for a
post-performance discussion.
When the Auschwitz Jewish Center joined with the Museum two years ago, one of
the challenges was how to familiarize the Museum community and the general public
with the Center and its programs.
Without question, the Center, located just three kilometers from AuschwitzBirkenau, has inherited a powerful legacy. A five-minute film entitled Auschwitz Jewish
Center: Guardian of Jewish Memory, viewable at http://ajcf.org/what-is-the-ajc, helps
introduce this meaningful institution to the public. Filmed on location at AuschwitzBirkenau and at the Center, the film combines historical photos and testimonies to
,
present a moving view of Oswiecim, establishing its vibrant Jewish community before
the war and the Center’s renewal as the only Jewish presence remaining in the vicinity
of the death camp. To learn more about the Auschwitz Jewish Center, email Shiri
Sandler at [email protected]. On Friday evening, November 14, David Marwell
will give his presentation on “The Search for Josef Mengele” at Temple Shaaray Tefila
in Bedford, New York. Other AJC activities are planned for that weekend, as well as
in California and South Florida this winter. For information contact Felica Kobylanski
at 646.437.4302, or email [email protected].
Tomasz Mol
The ARC Ensemble will perform in Music in Exile.
Seated: Steven Dann (viola), Erika Raum (violin),
David Louie (piano), Marie Bérard (violin),
Joaquin Valdepeñas (clarinet). Standing: Dianne
Wener (piano), Bryan Epperson (cello).
• Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn
will moderate a fascinating conversation
on September 17 about Religion and
the 2008 Presidential Campaign with
Interfaith Alliance President Reverend
Dr. C. Welton Gaddy; Rabbi David
Saperstein, Director of the Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism; Charles
Haynes, Senior Scholar, First Amendment
Center; and author Susan Jacoby.
Auschwitz Jewish Center Updates
• On October 29, join us for a double bill of two wildly popular bands: Soulfarm and
the Moshav Band. Inspired by their Jewish roots, these dynamic musicians will offer
up their unique blends of rock, reggae, folk, funk, and soul in honor of Daniel Pearl
World Music Days.
• This year’s annual Rosenblatt Forum will shed new light on the history, present, and
future of Jews in Arab lands. The symposium will be moderated by Dr. Robert Satloff,
director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and will feature André
Aciman, author of Out of Egypt; Reza Aslan, author and Middle East analyst for CBS
News; Lucette Lagnado, author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit; and Vivienne
Roumani Denn, filmmaker, The Last Jews of Libya. This fascinating discussion will take
place on November 16. The Rosenblatt Forum is made possible through a generous
gift by Lief D. Rosenblatt, and endows a wide range of public programs.
,
On location at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim, Poland.
Felica Kobylanski
• In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Museum will partner
with the Royal Conservatory of Music and the ARC ensemble for Music in Exile. This
series of concerts and lectures taking place from November 9–13 will feature music by
European composers of the 1930s who were forced to flee oppression and violence,
and whose work was indelibly influenced by their refugee experiences. Music in Exile’s
powerful centerpiece will be Mark Neikrug’s Through Roses — a dramatic musical
portrayal of a Jewish violinist witnessing inmates marching to the gas chambers from
behind a camp commander’s rose hedge. Film actor Saul Rubinek will star in the work.
For tickets or more information, please call 646.437.4202, or visit www.mjhnyc.org.
Felica Kobylanski
Melanie Einzig
80 is the new 40! Dr. Ruth Westheimer celebrated her 80th birthday at the Museum on
June 4 at a party given by her children. More than 300 people celebrated the good doctor with
singing and festive dancing. Friends and family donated more than $70,000 to the Museum in
honor of the event.
From L-R Giovana and Abe Haruvi, Dinner Chairs; Donald Trump; Rachel Haruvi, who shared
her story of surviving Auschwitz and other camps; Ann Oster, Museum Vice Chair; and Dan
K. Wassong, Museum Overseer. David Marwell was the featured speaker at the March 1
dinner at Mar-a-Lago Club, which was attended by 40 guests, including Museum Trustees
Mac Pickman, Dr. Edward Steinberg, Walter Weiner, and their wives. More than $30,000
was raised for the Center.
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
Happy Birthday Dr. Ruth
From L-R, Fred Rosen; Dr. David G. Marwell; Nadine Rosen; and Deborah Oppenheimer,
producer of Into the Arms of Strangers: The Story of the Kindertransport, who hosted an
AJC reception in her L.A. home on January 28. The Rosens later traveled to Poland, visited
the Auschwitz Jewish Center, and then generously funded one of six AJC Fellows, graduate
students who participated in the summer 2008 program. The other AJC Fellow donors are:
2007 Museum Mission to Germany and Poland participants Arthur Ainsberg and Abraham and
Florence Schwartzberg; Howard and Elyse Butnick and Family; Jaffa and Larry Feldman; and
The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture.
1
Fascinating Exhibition, Woma
and Suite Française, Opens
The story of Irène Némirovsky is that of a remarkable writer, who was determined to cr
around her. Her life, work, and legacy are the subject of a new, extraordinary ex
H
er story is, however, more than literary history: it is the story of a mother
and her daughters, of memory and identity, of legacy and loss. A Russianborn Jewish writer, Némirovsky quickly became an acclaimed author
in her adopted France, where she lived for many years. But her fame
and accomplishment, and even her conversion to Catholicism, were not
enough to save her; she was arrested in 1942 and deported to Auschwitz, where she
perished within a short time. Three months later her husband, Michel Epstein, was
also arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where he was murdered upon arrival.
Among the few items Irène left her daughters, Denise and Elisabeth, who survived
the war, was a valise that contained a leather notebook they believed to be their
mother’s diary. Haunted by painful memories, they avoided opening the notebook
until Denise resolved to read it more than fifty years after her mother’s death. She
discovered not a diary but a major literary work: the first two parts of an unfinished
five-part novel, Suite Française, now a bestseller in several countries.
This remarkable story — about a long-forgotten writer and her literary tour de
force — will be told through stunning and heartbreaking artifacts, including the
manuscript and the valise itself, never before exhibited. In fact, aside from the
manuscript, none of the source material for the exhibition has ever been displayed
before or even been outside of France.
Two years ago, Museum Director David Marwell was invited to a small private
book launch of Suite Française at the French Cultural Center in New York, where he
first encountered the manuscript. “It was the most extraordinary artifact I had ever seen.
The manuscript said so much about the person who wrote it and the circumstances
under which she wrote. As an artifact, it communicated to me in a profound way. I
knew we had to tell its story. I knew, too, that it would be a challenge to relate this
story with all of its nuance and texture. Irène Némirovsky’s life and work must be
understood in the full context of the world in which she lived and in the art form in
which she expressed herself.”
Circulation card, issued December 21,1939. This identity card allowed Irène Némirovsky
to visit her children in Issy-L’Évêque, where they had been evacuated for their safety. Later,
Némirovsky and her husband would also leave Paris and join their children in Issy full-time.
“Irène was a stunning and incisive novelist, writing in real time, unmediated, as
the German invasion of France unfolded,” remarked Deputy Director and exhibition
curator Ivy Barsky. “It is a privilege to bring her life and legacy to light through the
extraordinary objects and artifacts that survived her. We are especially honored to
have the trust of Denise Epstein, who, for the first time ever, is allowing the treasured
valise out of her possession and out of France,” Ms. Barsky added.
This remarkable story — about a long-forgotten
writer and her literary tour de force — will
be told through stunning and heartbreaking
artifacts, including the manuscript and the
valise itself, never before exhibited.
Page of manuscript, Suite Française, 1940 –1942. The exhibition features Irène
Némirovsky’s original manuscript — the first two novellas of what was to be a five-part
work. Her tiny, quick writing suggests her lack of paper, ink, and time.
Highlights of the exhibition include family photographs and filmed interviews;
Irène’s ID card, which documents her struggle to see her daughters once they had
been moved from Paris for their own safety; and her ration card, which visually
confirms when she was arrested. Museum visitors will be able to view the Suite
Française manuscript in its entirety using an interactive computer program in the
exhibition. Visitors can flip through the manuscript and witness for themselves the tiny
writing — evidence that the author knew that paper was limited and that she was not
sure when she would obtain more, and that time itself was a scarce resource. The
notes Irène wrote to herself and her crossed-out notations illustrate her writing process.
Visitors will feel the urgency Irène felt as she penned what would be her last work. “As
an of Letters: Irène Némirovsky
September 24
reate, even as her world was being destroyed
xhibition opening on September 24, 2008.
you can imagine, life here is very sad, and if it weren’t for my work…” she wrote to
her publisher. “Even the work becomes painful when the future is so uncertain,” she
concluded.
Perhaps the most poignant artifact that will be on display is a note with Irène’s
last written words to her daughters, hastily written at an internment camp. “Courage
and hope,” she wrote. “You are in my heart, my loved ones. May God help us all.”
Miraculously, the note reached the girls. It was their hope that their mother’s story would
be remembered. Their wishes were realized in 2004, more than six decades after
her death, when Némirovsky received the Renaudot Prize, France’s most prestigious
literary award — the first time the prize had been given posthumously.
“Courage and hope,” she wrote.
“You are in my heart, my loved
ones. May God help us all.”
Read More About Némirovsky’s Life And Work
In conjunction with the exhibition, IMEC and Five Ties Publishers will publish
a companion volume, further making the work and life story of this accomplished
writer available to all. The book will include “The Virgins,” a short story never
before translated and published in English. In fact, “The Virgins” appeared in
print on the day Irène was deported. Published under a pseudonym, it would
be her last work published during her lifetime. Also included in the volume will
be Irène’s notes for “Captivity”, which would have become the third part of
Suite Française; an enlightening interview with Irène’s daughter Denise Epstein;
and a biographical chronology, richly illustrated with never-before-published
photographs of Irène and her family. 176 pages. Email [email protected]
to order a copy from the Pickman Museum Shop.
Please also log onto www.mjhnyc.org to visit a special website designed to
convey the power of the exhibition and allow virtual visitors to take advantage
of web-based technology to experience aspects of the exhibition.
The exhibition will include a literary Salon in the Rotunda Gallery, adjacent
to the Woman of Letters exhibition. In the Salon, visitors will be able to study
a digital copy of the manuscript of Suite Française, browse other works by
Némirovsky, read critical sources about her work and have conversations with
other visitors. Small group discussions with authors and book club meetings will
take place in the Salon, which will be furnished with custom designed French
furniture courtesy of Ligne Roset. Please call 646.437.4305 for information about
bringing your book club to the Museum for a tour and discussion.
The Museum will host several public programs related to the exhibition,
including a discussion on September 24 with Irène’s daughter Denise Epstein and
Némirovsky translator Sandra Smith. On October 26, a symposium about French
Jewry during the Holocaust will shed light on the climate in which Némirovsky
wrote. Historians Dr. Robert O. Paxton and Dr. Michael Marrus will be speaking.
Please visit www.mjhnyc.org for the most up-to-date list of public programs.
The exhibition is a co-production with Institut Mémoires de l’Édition Contemporaine (IMEC),
which houses the author’s papers and those of her publisher.
Valise. The manuscript of Suite Française, along with other important family documents and
photographs, was left behind by Irène Némirovsky after her arrest in July 1942. Her daughters took
the suitcase into hiding with them. The manuscript remained in the suitcase for more than 50 years.
Courtesy Denise Epstein.
TOP RIGHT AND COVER: Irène Némirovsky, 1938. All photographs, other than the valise,
courtesy Irène Némirovsky Archive/IMEC — All rights reserved.
This exhibition is made possible through generous funding from: American Express, David
Berg Foundation, and the Grand Marnier Foundation; leadership gifts from: Nancy Fisher,
Fanya Gottesfeld Heller, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council with the generous support
of The September 11th Fund, and The Robert Sillins Family Foundation; and additional
support provided by: The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, Embassy of France in
the United States, Alexis Gregory Foundation, The Felix & Elizabeth Rohatyn Foundation,
and Howard J. Rubenstein. Rotunda Salon furnished courtesy of Ligne Roset.
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
COME BACK TO THE MUSEUM FOR IN - DEPTH
CONVERSATION ABOUT NÉMIROVSKY
3
IN THE GALLERIES
Museum Celebrates Openings
of Extraordinary Exhibits
All photos on this page by Melanie Einzig
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36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
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On February 14, elected officials and the Ambassador of the
Dominican Republic to the United States, Museum Trustees
and donors celebrated the opening of two extraordinary
exhibits — Sosúa: A Refuge for Jews in the Dominican
Republic/Sosúa: Un Refugio de Judíos en la República
Dominicana, and “To Return to the Land…” Paul Goldman’s
Photographs of the Birth of Israel.
1. Dr. Louis D. Levine, Director of Collections and Exhibitions and curator
of “To Return to the Land…” Paul Goldman’s Photographs of the Birth of
Israel, at the opening of the exhibition with his grandson, Micah.
2. Septeto Rodriguez performed a lively set of Latino-inspired
Jewish music to a full house on March 12.
3. Former Sosúa settler Denny Herzberg (L) dances up a storm at the
Septeto Rodriguez concert.
4. At the Sosúa opening (L to R): Museum Director Dr. David G. Marwell;
Manhattan District Attorney and Museum Chairman Robert M. Morgenthau;
His Excellency Flavio Darío Espinal, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic
to the United States; Honorable Eduardo Selman, Dominican Republic Consul
General in New York; and New York State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman.
5. Eleven-year-old Marisa Harford from PS 269 in Brooklyn investigates
the Sosúa exhibition after taking part in a free workshop that celebrates
shared history.
6. Former settler Ruth Arnoldi Kohn with Allan Gersten, whose mother Edith
was a settler; former settler Hanni Lesser Thuna and her daughter Joanne.
6
Museum’s Critically Acclaimed Books Now Available
At Bookstores Across the Country
Since 2002, the Museum has published a variety of fascinating books that
complement its mission and exhibitions. This year, the Museum has teamed up
with Ingram Book Group, the world’s largest wholesale distributor of books. The
partnership ensures that Museum publications — including Lives Remembered:
A Shtetl Through a Photographer’s Eye; Ours To Fight For: American Jewish
Voices from the Second World War; and Daring to Resist: Jewish Defiance in the
Holocaust, will be available in bookstores all over North America.
Log onto www.mjhnyc.org/sosua/index.htm to read the introduction to the
Museum’s latest book, Dominican Haven: The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosúa,
1940 –1945, by professor Marion A. Kaplan, which is being distributed by
Ingram. All titles are also available in the Pickman Museum Shop.
Curator’s Choice
Gisela Stern Simon embroidered her own Rosh Hashanah card for her father and
stepmother as an inmate in the Terezin Ghetto. Dated in both Hebrew and German,
the card is all the more special because of the red and blue yarn flower sewn onto
the front — a consideration for her blind father, who could feel the raised design with
his fingers. The family remained in Terezin until its liberation by the Soviets on May 8,
1945. Then they returned to Germany, still ill from their time at the camp. Three weeks
later, they were able to return to their native town of Abterode. Gisela moved to the
United States in 1946. Her parents joined her a year later.
Embroidered panel, Bratislava, c. 1920. Gift of Emilie Jerushalmy.
Rosh Hashanah card made by Gisela Stern for her father and stepmother, Terezin Ghetto, 1943.
Peter Goldberg
Gift of Gisela Stern Simon
The permanent collection includes many examples of Jewish life and continuity
represented through crafts. Two recently acquired objects are examples of such artifacts.
Donor Emilie Jerushalmy’s grandmother, mother, and aunts embroidered a
depiction of the traditional roles of women. The linen textile hung in her grandmother’s
pantry in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, before WWII. It depicts a mother and a daughter
fulfilling commandments that are specific to women, such as koshering a chicken,
lighting the Sabbath candles, and baking challah. The rhyming Yiddish inscription
translates to “meat and dairy you must not mix/so God will protect you from troubles
and suffering.” Emilie, who was smuggled out of her native France into Switzerland
as a baby in 1943, was reunited with her mother in France after the war. When she
moved to the United States in 1964, she brought this piece of embroidery with her.
Gift of Samson and Rosalyn Goldstein, Yaffa Eliach Collection. Center for Holocaust Studies
Visitors to Vancouver, Canada, will be able to see Scream the Truth at the
World — Emanuel Ringelblum and the Hidden Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto at the
Vancouver Holocaust Education Center from October 14 through December 12.
Recognizing that the events unfolding around him in Europe in the fall of 1939 were
unprecedented, and that they would require careful documentation, Warsaw historian
Emanuel Ringelblum gathered a few dozen writers, historians, rabbis, teachers, and
welfare workers to document Jewish life in Nazi-occupied Poland. Reports on the
deportation and murder of Jews, as well as artifacts, photographs, children’s school
essays, and art, were collected by the clandestine group from September 1939 until
January 1943 and buried in several containers — one was found in 1946, a second
was discovered in 1950. A third group, buried just before the Warsaw Ghetto revolt,
has never been found. The Ringelblum Archive, as the materials came to be known,
is the most important source for and the most poignant testimony to the destruction of
Warsaw Jewry. Ringelblum’s work was also featured in the Museum’s award-winning
exhibition Daring to Resist: Jewish Defiance in the Holocaust. The Archive is invaluable
evidence of Jewish resistance and resilience during the Holocaust.
After a successful run at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, the traveling version of
the award-winning exhibition Ours to Fight For: American Jews in the Second World
War will make its way to The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta
(August 2009) and the Holocaust Museum Houston (February 2010). The powerful
exhibition examines the role of Jewish servicemen and women who labored on and
off the battlefield.
For more information about when or where these exhibitions will be on view,
please visit www.mjhnyc.org. If you would like to bring the exhibition to your venue,
please contact [email protected].
From Ours to Fight For: Yom Kippur services, Luxembourg 1944.
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
Museum’s Exhibitions On View Across North America
5
IN THE GALLERIES
New Exhibit About Jews in Ukraine Offers Eyewitness Perspective and New Evidence
A new exhibition opening this November will present Holocaust history from a
new perspective: that of bystanders who were witnesses to the massacres.
Between 1941 and 1944, close to 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews were murdered in
the Soviet Union. Most of the Jews in Ukraine were not brought to death camps; rather,
they were shot by mobile killing units (Einsatzgruppen) made up of SS and police units,
as well as local collaborators at locations near to where the Jews lived. Most of the
non-Jews who witnessed the murders have never before spoken about what they saw.
Since 2004, Father Patrick Desbois, Director of Episcopal Services for Relations
with Judaism in France, whose grandfather was deported to a German Prison camp in
Rava-Ruska, and his Catholic and Jewish research team known as Yahad-In Unum —
the Hebrew and Latin words for together — have identified many Ukrainian witnesses
to the massacres and coaxed them into speaking about the events. These accounts
and other supporting research have provided information that has led to the location
of 500 mass graves. Through his diligent work, Father Desbois and his team are
assessing these sites in hopes of preserving them for posterity and providing a proper
Jewish burial for the victims.
The exhibition, created by the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris, presents this
undertaking through photographs, material evidence, personal artifacts, and riveting
bystander testimony. While most Holocaust stories are told through the eyes of
German perpetrators or Jewish victims, these bystander witnesses provide a dramatic
new perspective on these murderous events.
The exhibition at the Museum is made possible through generous funding from
Robert I. Goldman Foundation, Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and Edmond J. Safra
Philanthropic Foundation.
All photos on this page by Melanie Einzig
The Community Gathers to Commemorate
Annual Gathering of Remembrance
A memorial candle-lighting by 36 female Holocaust survivors accompanied by members of the
Third Generation.
This annual ceremony was organized by the Museum, the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization,
and the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants. The Annual
Gathering of Remembrance brought together over 2,000 survivors and family members.
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
The Annual Gathering of Remembrance, which honored the memory of those
who perished at the hands of evil and offered thanks for those who survived to create
a better world, returned to Congregation Emanu-El on May 4. In conjunction with the
60th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel, this year’s Annual Gathering of
Remembrance paid special tribute to Israel’s people and history.
Museum Director David Marwell said, “Our resolve is like a stone formed by
the weight of sorrow and the pressure of memory, and our resolve is never to forget,
always to remember. We think back to the fifth decade of the last century, which
saw not one but two transformative events — the Holocaust and the birth of the State
of Israel. At nearly mid-century, these events, like the waist of an hourglass, were a
culmination and a beginning. In this narrow band of time, it was as if the enduring
themes of all of Jewish history — exile, martyrdom, and renewal — were distilled and
recapitulated.” The audience also heard from Senator Charles E. Schumer, Israeli
Consul General Asaf Shariv, Rabbi David Posner, event co-chairs Rita Lerner and Ann
Oster, Young Friends Board member Jennifer Klein, and President of the American
Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, Sam Bloch. Cantor
Joseph Malovany, the Temple Emanu-El Choir, and Hazamir International Jewish
High School Choir performed musical selections to observe the occasion.
This annual event brings together nearly 2,000 Holocaust survivors and their
families, as well as New York’s elected officials and community leaders, for a candlelighting service that fulfills the sacred Jewish obligation to remember. Six candles,
representing the six million Jews who lost their lives, were lit by the following survivors,
accompanied by their families: Jack Feldman, Rachel Haruvi, Celia Kener, Erwin
Pearl, Henry and Sally Wiener, and Chana Wiesenfeld.
The commemoration continued that evening in Edmond J. Safra Hall with an
evocative and masterful performance by the incomparable Israeli Contemporary
String Quartet of American composer Steve Reich’s masterpiece Different Trains. The
multi-media piece is based on the composer’s childhood in the late 1930s and early
1940s, during which he traveled many times by train between New York and Los
Angeles to see his parents, who had joint custody. Steve Reich states, “If I had been
in Europe during this period, as a Jew I would have had to ride very different trains.
With this in mind I wanted to make a piece that would accurately reflect the whole
situation.” For the work, Reich recorded Holocaust survivors speaking about their
experiences and interspersed their voices with American and European train sounds
from the time period.
Yom HaShoah
The Israeli Contemporary String Quartet perform “Different Trains.”
6
Student groups and visitors met with Holocaust survivors and artifact donors who shared their
experiences. Shown here is Edith Rosenbaum, who was born in Lueneburg, Germany, in 1925.
Students came from across the tri-state region to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Pictured here are students from the Razi School in Woodside with Gallery Educator Dail Stolow (left).
MUSEUM FAMILY
Peter Kalikow and Bruce Ratner Honored for Helping to Build the Museum and the Museum Community
On April 14, the Museum held its 12th Annual Heritage Dinner, honoring Museum
Trustees and Building Committee members Peter S. Kalikow and Bruce C. Ratner.
Dinner co-chairs were Robert B. Catell, Deputy Chairman, National Grid; Hon. Alfonse
D’Amato, Park Strategies LLC; and Museum Trustee Ingeborg Rennert. The event was
held throughout the Museum’s facilities, providing over 375 guests with the opportunity
to enjoy food and drink on the second and third floors of the Morgenthau Wing, and
to explore the Core and special exhibitions. Museum Chairman Robert M. Morgenthau
and Museum Director David G. Marwell presented the Heritage Award during the very
warm and intimate program. Mr. Morgenthau called the honorees “master builders,”
who “rebuilt Manhattan’s skyline in its darkest days.” Mr. Ratner and Mr. Kalikow
graciously accepted the award and made heartfelt remarks about their personal
connections to the mission of the Museum. Mr. Ratner summed it up best when he
said, “Like the trees in the rock garden, this place is rooted in me and I in it.” Guests
were entertained by the acclaimed Gershwin pianist Kevin Cole, who performed the
American master’s Rhapsody in Blue. The annual event raised $1.6 million.
all Heritage dinner photos BY Melanie Einzig
L to R: Jeffrey E. Tabak, Brad Tabak, and Larry Silverstein.
Shown here (L to R): Museum Chairman Robert M. Morgenthau; Dinner Co-chair Ingeborg
Rennert; Honorees Peter S. Kalikow and Bruce C. Ratner; and Museum Director Dr. David G.
Marwell. Not shown: Dinner Co-chairs Robert B. Catell and Hon. Alfonse D’Amato.
Michael and Florence Edelstein.
Courtesy of Kim Seale
After visiting the Museum of Jewish Heritage for the
first time four years ago, Circle of Hope Member Kim
Seale was very moved by the Museum’s Core Exhibition
and the compassion with which the stories of Jewish
culture are told. For Kim, it is hard to select one area
of the Museum that is his favorite, but he says he is
“always inspired by the areas that discuss the amazing
amount of positive influence and the contributions made
by the Jewish people within the last century, especially
in the face of prejudice and bigotry.” Yearly, Kim
strives to coordinate his trips to New York City around
the Yom HaShoah events the Museum organizes. He
Kim Seale
loves interacting with the survivors, who serve as guest
speakers throughout the Museum, as they share their deeply moving personal stories
and memories on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Born in Dallas, Kim currently resides in the city of Garland, Texas. He feels that
through his membership he helps contribute to the Museum’s mission of educating the
public about the Holocaust and modern Jewish history. His involvement also helps
honor the memory of his father, a Major in the U.S. Army during World War II,
who witnessed some of the senseless acts of hatred against the Jewish people and
personally had a hand in the liberation of two death camps in 1945.
Kim also supports the Dallas Holocaust Museum and the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. For 27 years, he has been an active member of his church, the
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, Texas, and for 10 years he has served
as a volunteer for the Garland Police Department. In his free time, he enjoys reading,
travel, and photography.
For more information on Membership at the Museum, or to nominate a current
Member for the Member Profile, call 646.437.4334, or email [email protected].
Members Enjoy Special Events
and Sneak Previews
So far, 2008 has been packed full of events exclusive to Museum Members.
In February, the Museum opened two critically acclaimed exhibitions — Sosúa:
A Refuge for Jews in the Dominican Republic/Un Refugio de Judíos en la República
Dominicana, and “To Return to the Land…” Paul Goldman’s Photographs of the Birth
of Israel. Museum Members were among the first to see these wonderful exhibitions
at the Members-only Preview that took place on February 15, before the galleries
opened to the public. Current Members were also invited to attend the Membersonly Preview of Woman of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française, taking
place on September 23.
In addition to special Members-only previews, many Members of the Museum’s
Patron Circle attended an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Sosúa led by Dr. Lou
Levine, Director of Collections and Exhibitions, on February 7; and on June 25,
Museum Director David G. Marwell welcomed Patron Members at a private cocktail
reception preceding the world premiere Spirit of Sepharad concert, celebrating 500
years of Sephardic music. Nearly 150 new members of all membership levels were
welcomed on June 18 for a special reception and self-guided tour of Daring to Resist.
Members receive discounted or free tickets to a wide range of concerts, films, and
discussions throughout the year.
For more information on upcoming Membership events, or to become a Member
of the Museum, call the Membership Office at 646.437.4334, or email membership@
mjhnyc.org.
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
Member Profile: Kim Seale
Marian Klein and Joanna Lipper.
7
MUSEUM FAMILY
Spring Women’s Luncheon Featured Uplifting Story of Sosúa Settler Ruth Arnoldi Kohn
All Spring Women’s Luncheon Photos by Melanie Einzig.
The Spring Women’s Luncheon Benefit and silent auction were held at the Pierre
Hotel on June 12. Over 300 guests listened to this year’s special guest speaker, Ruth
Arnoldi Kohn, in conversation with Dr. Marion A. Kaplan, Skirball Professor of Modern
Jewish History at New York University. Ruth Kohn’s fascinating story started in 1938,
when many nations were unwilling to help the Jews, the Dominican Republic offered to
resettle 100,000 refugees. Sosúa, an abandoned plantation, would become a refuge to
hundreds of Jews, including members of Ruth’s family. Ruth shared her uplifting story of
escape from Germany at the age of 14. Describing their arrival in Sosúa on December
7, 1941, she said, “It seemed strange, the climate, the language … but the feeling
of being saved overwhelmed us.” The emotional event raised more than $185,000
for the Museum. Trustees Patti Kenner and Ann Oster served as luncheon Chairs, the
Co-chairs were Kathy Gantz, Vivien Weissman Howard, and Lisa Oshman. Luncheon
attendees viewed a film from the Museum’s special exhibition Sosúa: A Refuge for
Jews in the Dominican Republic and received copies of Dr. Kaplan’s book Dominican
Haven: The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosúa, 1940 –1945. Among the guests were
prominent women representing the Dominican community and organizations in the
Washington Heights area.
Ruth Arnoldi Kohn (center) with her sons (L to R) Daniel, Frank, and David Kohn.
Event Co-chairs Vivien Weissman Howard and Kathy Gantz; Ruth Arnoldi Kohn; Dr. Marion A. Kaplan; Event
Co-chair Lisa Oshman; and event Chairs and Museum Trustees Ann Oster and Patti Kenner.
8
The Young Friends have been busy with diverse programs and events. In
February, the group was treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Woman
of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française. This evening was made possible
thanks to the generosity of Jack Kliger and his daughter Joanna, and was co-chaired
by Seth Weisleder and Marc Rosen. On March 6, Young Friends Board member Dave
Gallo and Museum Trustee Thomas H. Lee co-hosted a small gathering for young
professionals interested in the finance field. Also in March, the Young Friends hosted
their annual Purim celebration at the Maritime Hotel (thanks to Board of Overseers
member Richard Born and his daughter Caroline Born), co-chaired by Young Friends
Board Members Barry Goldman and Joanna Kliger. Over 150 young professionals
came out for a night of festive dancing and mingling.
The Young Friends, many of whom are grandchildren of survivors, also had
an important role at the Annual Gathering of Remembrance on May 4, where they
volunteered to usher or to guide survivors and their families onto the stage to light the
memorial candles. Thanks to the hard work of the Young Friends Leadership Board,
particularly Board member Jennifer Klein, Third Generation involvement in this moving
commemoration continues to grow.
This summer, the Young Friends once again co-sponsored New York’s Best
Emerging Jewish Artists concert and after-party on July 9. This yearly event has
been a crowd favorite at the Museum for the past three years. Emerging Artists has
continually raised the bar, and 2008 did not disappoint. Luminescent Orchestrii’s
mix of klezmer and punk got the evening off to a rollicking start. The big hit of the
night was up-and-coming fashion designer Levi Okunov, who showed highlights of
his collection. Models sashayed up and down the aisles in beautiful coats, dresses,
and other ensembles inspired by the designer’s Chassidic upbringing.
After the show, the audience partook of refreshments and breathtaking midsummer views from the Museum’s newly refurbished terrace. The Young Friends’ next
event will be a wine and vodka tasting on September 17.
For more details and information about Young Friends, please call 646.437.4321,
or email [email protected].
Annual Golf and Tennis Outing
is a Hole In One
Left: Howard Butnik and Paul Brensilber
served as Co-chairs for the Seventh
Annual Golf and Tennis Outing, the
Museum’s primary summer fundraiser.
More than 130 participants enjoyed
golf, tennis, an auction, and reception
dinner at the beautiful Old Westbury
Golf and Country Club.
Golf and Tennis Photos by Jodie Katzeff
36 BATTERY PLACE | MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE — A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
Young Friends Division Celebrates
the Seasons
Seen here L to R: Rosita Romero, Executive Director, Dominican Women’s
Development Center; Raquel Batista, Executive Director, Northern
Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights; Lilliam Perez, District Office
Director, Senator Eric T. Schneiderman’s Office; and Maria Khury, CEO,
Khury Tourist and Travel.
Event Co-chair, sponsor, and auction item donor Simon Bergson on the green with his brother
Jerry Bergson, Rich Sepulveda, and auction item donor Karl Wexler. Bergson’s Manhattan Beer
Distributors generously donated refreshments for the day-long event.
EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT
Ninth Annual Fanya Gottesfeld
Heller Conference for Educators
Sheds New Light on Experiences of
Women During the Holocaust
Melanie Einzig
L to R: Bonnie Gurewitsch, Fanya Gottesfeld Heller, Sara R. Horowitz,
and Joan Ringelheim.
More than 350 participants gathered at the Museum on March 18
for the Ninth Annual Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Conference for Educators,
which this year explored the unique difficulties women faced and the
adversities they overcame during the Holocaust. Narratives of the
Holocaust: Women’s Perspectives, made possible through the generous
support of Museum Trustee Fanya Gottesfeld Heller, helped teachers
gain the tools they need to guide their students in understanding what
women experienced in the ghettos, in the concentration camps or in
hiding, and after liberation.
Teachers heard from Ms. Gottesfeld Heller, who shared her own
personal history; Joan Ringelheim who discussed the history of the study
of women in the Holocaust; Bonnie Gurewitsch, who provided case
studies of women’s wartime experiences; and Sara R. Horowitz, who
spoke about women in relation to Holocaust literature.
“While we addressed the topic of women in the Holocaust in the
inaugural Fanya Gottesfeld Heller conference in 2000, the time was
right to return to this important topic and examine new information with
new viewpoints. It is vital that we listen carefully to the experiences of
extraordinary women like Fanya. Ms. Heller’s experiences resonate with
young people today who are trying to make sense of the challenges in
their world. Ms. Heller’s honesty and courage are truly an inspiration,”
said Elizabeth Edelstein, the Museum’s Director of Education.
The Museum will offer an educators conference in the fall about
America’s role in the Holocaust. For more information, please contact
Elizabeth Edelstein at 646.437.4295.
“We look forward to working together to create
educational programs that are accessible and
engaging for all students.”
In addition to looking for new ways to promote intercultural
dialogue, the Education Department has begun an initiative to examine
how the Museum can best serve students with special needs. With the
support of Education Committee members, the staff reached out to New
York City public, Jewish, and Catholic schools that work with students
with special needs and invited educators to the Museum in April. After
touring the Museum, educators and Education Department staff had a
productive discussion. “We look forward to working together to create
educational programs that are accessible and engaging for all students,”
said Director of Education Elizabeth Edelstein.
After discovering that many American Sign Language interpreters
use inaccurate or inappropriate signs when they interpret Museum tours
for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, staff began work with ASL speakers
to develop a lexicon for visiting interpreters that includes terms specific
to teaching about Jewish heritage and the Holocaust. The Education
Department will also provide Gallery Educators with tools to help them
in their work with students with special needs.
Vice ChairS
Stephen E. Kaufman
George Klein
Manfred Ohrenstein
Ann Oster
Howard J. Rubenstein
Honorary Chairmen
Mario M. Cuomo
Jacob K. Javits z”l
Edward I. Koch
Elie Wiesel
Director
David G. Marwell, Ph.D.
Trustees
Harry W. Albright, Jr.
Simon Bergson
Nancy Fisher
Dr. Alfred Gottschalk
Judah Gribetz
Fanya Gottesfeld Heller
Peter S. Kalikow
Patti Askwith Kenner
Jack Kliger
Harvey M. Krueger
Thomas H. Lee
Rita G. Lerner
Susana Torruella Leval
Joanna H. Lipper
Ernest W. Michel
Irving Paler
Morton Pickman
Bruce C. Ratner
Ingeborg Rennert
Lily Safra
Larry A. Silverstein
Dr. Ronald B. Sobel
Steven Spielberg
Bernard Spitzer
Dr. Edward L. Steinberg
Jeffrey E. Tabak
Walter H. Weiner
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Shalom Yoran
Trustees Emeritus
Bess Myerson
Rosa Strygler
Ex-Officio Trustees
Governor of the State of New York
David A. Paterson
Mayor of the City of New York
Michael R. Bloomberg
U.S. Senator from the
State of New York
Charles E. Schumer
Interfaith Living Museum
Builds Bridges
Jamie Kenney
Jordana
Waliszewski,
a
senior International Studies major
at Ramapo College in New
Jersey, is one of 15 Lipper Interns
last semester who taught students
about the Holocaust through an
interactive series of presentations,
tours, and discussions at high
Jordana Waliszewski.
schools and middle schools
throughout the northeast. Jordana brings a unique outlook to the
Program — she is a Catholic Pole who grew up 15 kilometers from
Auschwitz. Her multiple trips to the death camp as a pre-teen motivated
her not only to learn more but to participate in the Lipper program in
order to educate others. “All the other interns had preconceived notions
about Polish people,” she said. “I was so happy to show them another
side — young people who want to make a change.”
Jordana considers herself lucky to have been able to hear survivors
speak first-hand about their experiences during the intensive 10-day
training. “It was very emotional; I cried almost every day.” But in spite of the
challenges inherent in learning and teaching such a difficult topic, Jordana
was excited to be a part of the program and to share her knowledge.
The Lipper Internship Program is made possible by the generous
support of the Gruss Lipper Foundation. For more information about
opportunities for students, please visit www.mjhnyc.org/students.
The Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP), a German
peace and volunteer service organization founded to confront the legacy
of the Nazi regime, presented “German/Jewish Dialogue — Tracing the
Future/Different Perspectives on a Shared Past,” bringing together 30
young Jewish Americans and non-Jewish Germans to exchange ideas.
The Museum served as a partner on this project.
The purpose of the seminar was for the participants to explore the
differences in their backgrounds and develop an understanding of each
nation’s history, and how it has influenced each participant’s perception
of the world.
On the final day of the three-day seminar, Museum staff engaged
the participants in dialogue about Daring to Resist: Jewish Defiance in
the Holocaust. Afterward, staff from the Museum and from the House
of the Wannsee Conference led a workshop on the postwar impact
of National Socialism on German and American society. The seminar
concluded with a discussion about the participants’ responses to the
material presented in the Museum’s galleries. Through these discussions,
the ARSP and the Museum hope not only to educate but to further
intercultural understanding.
Melanie Einzig
Polish Lipper Intern Brings
Fresh Perspective
Chairman
Robert M. Morgenthau
Promoting New Kinds of Dialogue
President Pro Tem
and Majority Leader of
the New York State Senate
Dean Skelos
Speaker of the New York
State Assembly
Sheldon Silver
Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs
Kate D. Levin
Director of Communications
Abby R. Spilka
public relations Manager
Betsy Aldredge
The Museum receives general
operating support from the
Department of Cultural Affairs
of the City of New York.
Students taking part in the Interfaith Living Museum Project, just one of the
Museum’s innovative educational initiatives. The students worked together over a
period of three months, sharing their cultures and developing an appreciation of
their differences. After visits to the Museum, a mosque, a synagogue, and each
other’s schools, the students brought artifacts from home to show one another,
then presented an exhibition at the Museum to an enthusiastic audience of family
and friends. Pictured here are (left to right): Amani Ahmed, Ariel Kaminsky, and
Yael Saiger. The Interfaith Living Museum is made possible through the generous
support of the Leo Rosner Foundation, Inc.
Pro Bono Counsel
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
design:
Mike Joyce, Stereotype Design NYC
This newsletter is made possible,
in part, thanks to the generosity of
the Robert I. Goldman Foundation.